Nobody's Fault But Mine
by Lintilla
Summary: An AU of Cyberwoman. Ianto is imprisoned after he is found with Lisa.


Beginning to panic over his erratic behavior, Jack called out to Ianto over the coms, "Talk to me Ianto. Let me hear those beautiful Welsh vowels."

When he didn't receive any response, Jack turned to his team, "There's something going on. We need to find Ianto; everyone take a level and keep your coms on."

Gwen walked through the lower level nervously. With the antique lighting system, she needed a torch to see anything clearly. She kept her gun raised and proceeded cautiously toward the sound of voices in the next corridor. When she turned the corner, she found Ianto and gasped. In a panic she called over the coms, "Jack, get down here now. I'm going to need your help."

* * *

Ianto sat hunched in the corner of his cell. He'd lost track of how long he had been imprisoned. The days ran together in a mesh of boredom and depression. His memories haunted him: the daleks, cybermen, blood, screaming, and Lisa's lifeless eyes. What surprised him were his memories of Jack. His heart broke whenever he recalled the man's eyes when he found Ianto with the half-converted Lisa. They were a mix of disappointment, sadness, and pity.

He had never meant to hurt Jack. At first he was only there to save Lisa, but somewhere along the line he developed feelings for the dashing captain. They would spend their mornings together before the others came in, drinking coffee, chitchatting, and flirting. Sometimes Jack would kiss him so sweetly, Ianto would nearly break down and tell him everything. He supposed being imprisoned by UNIT was Jack's way of not having to execute him.

Some days he actually would've preferred the bullet to the head over life in prison. They didn't torture him or abuse him, but a man would come in everyday to question him about Torchwood and Lisa. He didn't stay long but Ianto was very reluctant to give him any information. He had done enough to jeopardize the safety of Jack's base; he didn't want UNIT getting a hold of anything. Just as Ianto was starting to think that maybe his interrogator wasn't coming that day, the cell door opened.

Bertie walked in wearing his usual gray suit. The man was pleasant enough but Ianto just could not bring himself to trust him. The middle aged officer approached Ianto, "How are you doing today, Mr. Jones? Did you sleep well?"

Ianto scoffed at the question, "As well as you can expect, given the circumstances."

Bertie leaned against the door, "I do wish you would let us make you more comfortable."

Ianto couldn't help but snarl at his quid pro quo suggestion, "I won't tell you anything."

Bertie sighed, "I wish you would. It might help."

Ianto stood up angrily, "Why don't you just kill me already?"

"Why would I do that, Ianto?"

Ianto put his hands on his hips, "That's what you people do, isn't it? If it's a choice between death and life imprisonment, I want you to know that I prefer death."

Bertie made a note in his file, "It can't be that bad."

Ianto rolled his eyes, "Why don't you try it?"

Bertie nodded his head and changed the subject, "You have a visitor today."

Ianto already knew who it was. He still couldn't understand why Jack would visit him so often. The Captain by all rights should hate him, but he always seemed so sympathetic. Bertie left the room still making notes and soon Jack was let inside. The Captain, wearing his trademark wool coat, tentatively smiled and walked over to Ianto. The young man looked down with guilt and sat in his corner of the cell.

Jack looked around sadly and sat next to him, "You're looking thin, are they feeding you enough?"

Ianto couldn't bring himself to answer. Jack tried another approach, "I let Myfanwy out the other day to stretch her wings. She came back later with a half eaten sheep, dropped it right on Owen's desk. Tosh thinks that it was a behavior like a house cat; the sheep was meant to be a gift. We thought it was hilarious but Owen was not appreciative."

Ianto finally looked over at Jack, "Why do you keep coming here?"

Jack tried to take Ianto's hand, "I would've thought that would be obvious."

Ianto turned away again. Touching Ianto's chin, Jack turned his head back, "You know, I can pull some strings and maybe get you sent back to the Hub."

"Both you and I know that is never going to happen."

Jack's eyes filled with grief as Ianto spoke, "I think about you a lot. The times we spent together those last few months were very precious to me. I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I used the Hub because it was the only place I could keep Lisa. Falling for you wasn't part of the plan."

Tears fell down Jack's cheeks as he leaned forward and gently kissed Ianto. When he pulled back, he softly said, "They were very special for me too."

Slowly Jack stood and went to the door, "I'll see you next time, Ianto." The young man wept softly and stayed in his corner.

Outside the room, Jack was approached by Bertie, "How was he today?"

Jack sighed, "The same as always. Dr. Bertram, have you noticed any improvement?"

The doctor shook his head, "He still won't use the bed, change clothes, or leave the room. He insists that he's in prison and we're interrogating him. However, there haven't been any suicide attempts in the past week so there is room for hope."

Jack crossed his arms, "I wish I could just explain the situation to him."

"Now Captain, we tried that and he went into a fit. He was violent and nearly had a seizure. Please, be patient. With trauma like this, you can't expect a speedy recovery."

Jack put his hand to his head, "I can't help thinking that this was all my fault. When he approached me for a job after Canary Warf, I should have insisted on him receiving counseling. I didn't know how extensive it was until we found him in the lower level. He was convinced that his girlfriend had survived the attack and was half converted. Apparently, he'd been going down there for months thinking he was taking care of her. He couldn't even tell that he was alone in the room."

Dr. Bertram put his hand on Jack's shoulder, "You can't blame yourself. Ianto is a clever young man and he was able to hide this from everybody. I'm confident that someday we'll break through to him. In the mean time, please continue to talk to him. He's always better after you've visited."

Jack shook the doctor's hand and turned to leave the hospital. Once back in the SUV, Jack rested his head on the steering wheel. His visits were always too brief but the longer he stayed in the room, the closer he came to telling Ianto the truth. He knew the man he had fallen for was there but it was going to take time to find him.


End file.
